Quick question, what’s the best known Chinese green tea. Most casual tea drinkers would know its Longjing or Dragon Well as its commonly Anglicized. What about the next best known Chinese green? Most people would answer Biluochun (碧螺春) or the somewhat awkward sounding ‘Green Spires Spring’.
A few years ago, it was a common sight to see someone wearing a T-Shirt proclaiming the motto: “Second Place is the First Loser”. Turns out this quote is attributed to the late Dale Earnhardt, a famous NASCAR racer.
It sounds like a backhanded compliment- the ‘second best’ of anything- but when there are literally hundreds of Chinese green teas in the market, the second best known isn’t too shabby, especially considering the fame and repute of Longjing aka Dragon Well.
So why is Biluochun in second place?
Royalty
Longjing & Emperor Qian Long
This is a famous- possibly apocryphal or at least exaggerated tale- Emperor Qian Long upon hearing his mother was ill cut short his tour of Jiangnan; not before taking some tea leaves home with him. Turns out the tea cured his mother of her illness and he duly returned to Shi Feng in Hangzhou where he took those leaves and demarcated the 18 trees of Shi Feng for royal consumption.
Till today, Shi Feng Longjing is synonymous with the most revered green tea in the land and the stuff of modern day royalty- i.e. the leaders of CCP.
Biluochun & Emperor Kang Xi
In fact, from the perspective of seniority, one could argue it has better credentials than Longjing, being linked with Emperor Kang Xi- the grandfather of Emperor Qian Long.
The story goes Emperor Kangxi was in Suzhou when he first tasted this tea. Beguiled by its charming fruity taste and cooling sensation, he asked for its name and was taken aback by the answer- 吓煞人香, “the shocking fragrance”.
Finding the macabre name unsuited for this delicate tea, he renamed it碧螺春 or “green spire spring”- after the color, shape and harvest season of the tea. When the sovereign deigns to name anything, it is so and the name prevailed to this day.
Of course seniority is only part of the equation. Emperor Qian Long is one of the most beloved emperors of the Qing Dynasty and in tea circles his love for tea is well-documented, drinking tea to a ripe old age of 88.
Origin
There is a famous saying: “上有天堂，下有苏杭” which can be translated somewhat literally as “there’s heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below”.
This saying denotes the ethereal beauty of Suzhou and Hangzhou where Biluochun and Longjing originated from respectively.
The fact that Suzhou is named before Hangzhou probably testifies that there used to be a time when Suzhou was considered of higher repute than Hangzhou.
Today though, the situation is not the same as Hangzhou is one of the most famous cities and tourist destinations in China.
Consequentially West Lake (Xihu) is also a more popular destination than Lake Tai (Taihu) where Longjing and Biluochun are grown respectively. The tourism factor can’t be ignored when it comes to repute and popularity.
Nevertheless
Of course this doesn’t mean anything. Though it enjoys lesser fame than Longjing, ‘lesser fame’ than Longjing is really not a bad thing considering Longjing is known from Chengdu to Cambridge to Canberra.
Moreover, fame is not necessarily indicative of production quality or enjoyment. This is not to say I don’t love Longjing- I do. In fact it’s my first love- but Biluochun is worth a place on any green tea lover’s cupboard as well.
While Longjing has the roasted bean fragrance, Biluochun has that fruity, honeyed fragrance- while distinct, equally delightful.
Can’t say the same for every circumstance but in this respect I can safely say “second place is the next winner”
